FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - A new journal created at the University of Arkansas will focus on Arkansas education issues from kindergarten through college and beyond, providing valuable information for state legislators and other citizens who make decisions about education in Arkansas.

The first issue of the Arkansas Educational Research and Policy Studies Journal will be available both in print form and online in August.

"We’re trying to fill a void because there is no place to release this kind of information in Arkansas," said Sean Mulvenon, director of the Office of Research and Measurement in Education and editor of the journal. The journal receives funding from the Arkansas Department of Education (ADE). Co-editors include Gary Ritter, assistant professor in ELCF and Will Miller, associate professor of political science and director of the public policy Ph.D. program.

"This will be a good vehicle for sharing research within the state and region," Ritter said.

Ritter said the editors hope that the journal will communicate important, research-based information to state decision-makers who influence education policy in Arkansas.

"Most state legislatures across the nation are starting to pay more attention to education," Ritter said. "They are more involved with it than they were 15 years ago."

A journal of this sort will give people access to "civic capital," information that will help them make more informed decisions about education policy in the future, Miller said.

"Often, articles published in state journals like this one will have more impact on policy than articles published in national publications," Miller said.

The first issue contains five research articles on the following topics:

. The effect of free and reduced lunches on education in Arkansas

. Arkansans’ views on key education policy issues

. Implementing accountability programs in Arkansas

. Faculty development at colleges and universities

. Reviewing national accountability programs

The journal will be published twice a year. Mulvenon said he hopes it will stimulate more research statewide on the Arkansas educational system. He also hopes to sponsor a research conference based on the journal’s contents next spring. Such a meeting would bring together policy makers and academics to discuss current issues in education.

The journal has an editorial board that includes people in education, politics, academia and business. The board includes four Arkansas legislators, State Senator John Riggs of Little Rock, State Senator Barbara Horn of Foreman, State Representative Herschel Cleveland of Paris, and State Representative Leroy Dangeau of Wynne. Education representatives include Ray Simon, director of the Arkanasas Department of Education and Luke Gordy, chair of the Arkansas State Board of Education. The board also includes professors David Holman, Freda Carrol, Kathleen Atkins, and Sue Ann Strom from Arkansas State University, University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, University of Central Arkansas, and University of Arkansas at Little Rock, respectively. The final members of the board are Marsha Jones of the Springdale School District and Lee Gordon of the Arkansas Business and Education Alliance.

 

The editors are currently seeking submissions from the University of Arkansas system and other academic institutions across the state for the next issue of the journal. These could come from any field - law, political science, history, science, engineering, psychology or sociology - as long as the research has relevance to education in Arkansas.